A Wish for Wings was always set up to be in three acts.  The earliest forms of the series had the 27 Year Old Andrea talking to her bear and skipping around her life, instead of telling it pretty straightforwardly like we ended up doing.  Once the comic had started, we pretty much had a nice outline going, and the first seven episodes followed that outline extremely closely.
 

A week after publishing episode #7, however (and drawing #13) I had a VERY fatal computer crash taking my comics down for a few weeks.  By the time I was back up and replaying I had had enough time rethink and a rewrite a tighter more concise story.

So here're the original, pre-crash outlines.

ACT I
ACT II - [November 2001] [January 2002]
ACT III - [November 2001][November 2002]

ACT I - A Child's Wish (Outline as of 11/11/2001)

THE DANCING SHADOWS

She tells the story of how she first saw a shadow in her bedroom, and how two angels came out and defeated it with a light blast.  One was a beautiful angel, the other, and angel of war.  With the shadows destroyed, the "Angel of War," Diana, runs over to the crumpled form of Hanna, the robed angel. Hanna gets up off the floor, groggy and confused. The seven year-old Andrea, witnessing all this, barely hears the two as they argue. From what she can make out, Hanna is upset that Diana spent more time sounding righteous than actually vanquishing the shadows. Scolded, Diana jumps back into the mirror leaving Hannah to make sure the area is cleared. She notices Andrea huddled into the corner, and attempts to comfort her. Scared, Andrea recoils from her.

Hanna removes her mask to show a beautiful smile. When Andrea asks if she's an angel, Hanna just smiles and dissapears. Andrea runs to her mirror and sees nothing but her reflection. And a glowing halo above her head. She crawls into bed and falls asleep, safer than she's ever felt before.

But from the mirror, a pair of red eyes watch.

You'll notice in this version there is no dying Hanna, or even Morningstar.  That plot line, which ended up becoming a major portion of the "sequel" hadn't been devised yet.  I decided to move her off camera because, as you'll see, her role simply became "Show up, pat Andrea on the head."

Outside, Andrea waits for the bus with her next door neighbor, Roger. Roger and Andrea have that elementary school love/hate relationship that's so cute in children. You can tell they like each other JUST enough to tease each other about not liking each other. At school, the two talk about what happened that last night. Roger tries to convince her that it was all a dream. Andrea, shaken, runs to a bathroom and looks in the mirror - her halo is still there.

Roger was the name of the person who singlehandedly pushed me into writing A Wish for Wings, and I made two little nods in his direction.  The first was Andrea's bear, which is a personal symbol to Roger, and the second was to name the primary antagonist after him.  When Roger wasn't used, the character semi-morphed into Iblael.

That night Andrea waits up for the shadows and angels to reappear but they don't. Dissapointed, she curls up for bed and falls asleep.  Once asleep, Hanna reappears, pulls down her mask, and gives Andrea a kiss.

One of the ideas I have yet to mention in the current series, and will be mentioned soon, is that Andrea's belief that she was an angel was something that her mother put on her.  And that belief made her act as one.

Roger and Andrea have an argument over the tetherball on the school's playground. She demands he give it to her, because the angels always win over the shadows. Roger is black.

A parent/teacher conference is held and Angela is told point blank that she is not a "real" angel. Her mother calls her an angel because she loves her. Andrea decides to play along with the teacher and parent, and tells them she isn't an angel. But deep down...she knows better.

Andrea was never meant to be a racist, but in that child's world, she saw Roger being black as "Shadow."  Roger, of course, never saw it this way and took it as racism.  This would have begun a rift between the two that we would see in later episodes, even once Andrea apologized.

Just as the eyes get nearer, she's yanked up out of the water by Roger's father, who heard her thrashing about. She immediately runs away upstairs without even acknowledging Roger's father and looks into the mirror. No angels come out. And her halo is dim.

Originally, Andrea's halo dimming wasn't because her "batteries were dying" but more as a reflection of her attitude.  The worse her attitude or behaviour, the dimmer her halo got.

She tells him how sorry she was about not saying thank you to his father for saving her life.  The two begin to talk like they were old friends again, and catch up with each other.

Jokingly, Roger asks "Are you still an angel?"  Andrea replies unflinchingly with a yes.

Roger, not realizing he'd get a serious answer is shocked. "I guess that means I'm STILL a shadow." He runs off in a huff, while Andrea tries to catch up to him. Grabbing him, she tries to tell him she was wrong about it, but Roger pushes her down.

It all sinks in to Andrea this time.  She is no angel. She's just a little girl who has been told once too many times by a loving mother that she is an angel. She was not ever an angel. She never will be an angel. She's just a little girl.  Period.

That night, as Andrea sleeps, a pair of red eyes appears and jumps into her mirror.

Andrea goes to school the next day, despondent and unfeeling. She has a dreary day filled with childhood versions of hardship and woe. At one point, she sees a pair of red eyes in a darkened room in the hallway. She runs in, hoping that it's a shadow. Instead, it's simply the school's VCR lights. She removes the tape so one of the lights turns off.

She goes home, defeated...mom is working overtime again.

The whole line of Act I was to make Andrea think that maybe this all WAS in her head.  And just when maybe we were convinced it was, we see that it might be real.  One problem in writing here, was having a seven year old stay home alone.  That's one irresponsible mom!

Andrea goes upstairs and cleans up for bed. Looking in the mirror, she can just barely see a dim outline of what might be a halo. She gives up on it, and goes to bed. But before she can go to bed, a loud thunderclap booms and all the lights in the neighborhood go out.

Now surrounded in pitch black, Andrea tries to find a flashlight. When she can't, she feels her way into her bedroom and closes the door. As soon as she does, she's surrounded by glowing red eyes. Only the flashes of lightning show her the bodies of the shadows around her. She begins to feel the coldness of their claws pulling at her when she notices the mirror. In the mirror are three robed angels fighting four shadows INSIDE the mirror.

Andrea begins to grow weaker and weaker when she looks over to the mirror one last time and recognizes Hanna, fighting her way out of the mirror. Andrea gets an idea...with the last ounce of strength she has, she invisions a white light around her...and fires a blast of light from her body, wiping nearly all the shadows around her out. She falls to the ground in a crumpled mess, streams of light fading from her body.

The three angels manage to get out of the mirror, and look down at Andrea. They're obviously impressed at her ability to create a lightblast. Hanna removes her mask, and retraces a halo over her head, and kisses her gently on the cheek.

In the new version, virtually everything from "The Dancing Shadows" to "The Night the Lights Went Out" was removed for possible use elsewhere.  

Andrea, in her late twenties explains that that night was the night she truly knew she was angel. She kept it hidden for the next ten years because, at the time, she knew the grown-ups would never believe her.

She regrets the rift between her family and Roger's family grew so wide after several mistakes. But that it was her own fault that Roger never forgave her for the Shadow comment. She saw the shadows occasionally over the next ten years, but less and less frequently. Each time they dissapeared on their own. They stopped completely when she was seventeen. She never saw the robed angels again.

The Shattered Reflection, originally, was going to bookend every part.  I still kept that bookend concept, but dropped the "renaming" of the strips back to The Shattered Reflection.  In the end, I really didn't use any of the deleted material in any of the other acts of the final version of AWFW.

ACT II - Apotheosis (Outline as of 11/11/2001)

Part Two would have explored seveteen year-old Andrea's time in school and with a group of people she met called "The Celestial Exchange Agency" a group of people who all thought they were angels given human form. While dealing with the pressures of rumours about her "angelhood" at school, and the stigmas of beign different, she finds solace in the Celestial Exchange Agency, eventually becoming an officer of the group. Several of the CEA members come to the groups in full angel garb. And Andrea begins to make her own set of angel wings, feather by feather.

We would also have explored how the rift between Andrea and Roger turned into out and out hatred from Roger towards Andrea. It is a religious argument between a school friend named "Albert" who demands that Andrea pick a religion if she is an angel that she realizes the true mission of an angel. "An angel doesn't need to be told what is right, or to tell others what is right. She DOES what is right." She goes to the CEA meeting with that message.

She ends up causing the CEA's members to split off into faction camps. Those that believe that angels DO good and others who believe she is wrong, and that angels MUST adhere to a religion. She leads her group, not realizing the cult of personality she is building up around her, and that these angels aren't doing "right" but doing whatever she says. She leaves the group when people begin to come in, not dressed as angels, but dressed as Andrea herself. On her way out of the building, she meets a man named Michael, and warns him that is he is a true angel, he should turn around and go home. The people in that building are simply humans dressed as angels.

Soon afterwards, Andrea's mother breaks her neck putting up Christmas lights. Her will leaves the house to Andrea.

THE SHATTERED REFLECTION (Cont.)

ACT II - Apotheosis (Outline as of 01/01/2002)

The Celestial Exchange Agency

Clipped Wings

The Angel of Death

Andrea begins to tell newcomers that angels don't need religion as long as they only do what's right.  The group ends up breaking into split off into faction camps. Those that believe that angels DO good and others who believe she is wrong, and that angels MUST adhere to a religion. She leads her group, not realizing the cult of personality she is building up around her, and that these angels aren't doing "right" but doing whatever she says. 

Apollyon takes up the other side of the faction, telling people they must adhere to their dogma in order to become true angels.  

All Fall Down

On her way out of the building, she meets a man named Michael, and warns him that is he is a true angel, he should turn around and go home. The people in that building are simply humans dressed as angels.

Soon afterwards, Andrea's mother breaks her neck putting up Christmas lights. Her will leaves the house to Andrea.

THE SHATTERED REFLECTION (Cont.)

Once out of high school she immediately took a job to pay off the property taxes on her house, but was unable to completely pay them. She started selling off the furniture and antiques her mother had to try and keep the house. But on her waitresses salary, she couldn't do it, and eventually, several years later, she sold the house and moved to a small apartment in a seedy part of town.

As you can see, the Celestial Exchange Agency storyline was written before I'd heard of Elenari or Otherkin groups (which DO exist) and was written for a generic "Angel Group."  Albert and Roger morphed into "Iblael," manipulative Apollyon into the supernatural Abaddon, and the whole Angels Must Be Religious subtext was thrown out completely, turning into a straight up battle for souls.

Rob and Bernice, Andrea's Aunt and Uncle didn't come up until much later, and integrated themselves here and in the new "Final Nightmare" episodes.

ACT III - Angel Made Real (Outline as of 11/11/2001)

Part Three is a year in the life of twenty-six year old Andrea. While working at her job at a 1950's gimmick short order diner, Andrea meets Michael from the CEA meeting. They recognize each other immediately and start talking.  Michael lets her know that she was right...the group was really just a bunch of "humans in angel outfits." Eventually, they begin to form a relationship with each other, both believing themselves to be the last angels on the planet. The two work on Andrea's wings together, and fall deeply in love.

Andrea takes Michael to her "secret place." She takes him to the top of the Tower Life building, one of the larger skyscrapers in her city. The security guard waves her in and she takes the elevator to the top floor, then up several more flights of stairs. Another security guard waves at her, calling her "Goldie" (due to her golden yellow hair) and lets her through the door. She is at the absolute top floor of the Tower Life building, and a small railing is all that keeps her from flying down to the ground below. She tells him that she's been coming there for years, just to look over the city watching and guarding the people below. The security guards, knowing she wasn't up to any harm, and couldn't find a way to keep her off the roof, let her through. Up there, the two watch over the city, angels protecting their flock.

Through the months, we find out that Michael has been doing roughly the same thing in The Tower of Americas, a space needle type building downtown. The Tower of Americas, though, has a metal grating around it, to keep people from falling off the observation deck. He manages to sneak in using a stolen passcode, and takes her up to the tower, showing her the view from the Tower of Americas. The view is spectacular, an Andrea regrets never going up there, first.

On Andrea's twenty-seventh birthday, Michael promises her a surprise.  They first attempt to go into the Tower of Americas but the passcode has been changed. Instead they go to the Tower Life building. There are no guards today, as it's late on a Friday. At the top of the Tower Life building, Michael tells her that he has two presents for her. He gets down on bended knee, and proposes to her. The ring is attached to a small tag on a stuffed bear dressed as an angel. She happily accepts the proposal. he then tells her that he had been planning this surprise for the Tower of Americas for a long time, but the Tower Life building will do even better. He tells her that he is such a happy angel that he can fly.

And then jumps off the Tower Life building, plummeting to his death.

She runs downstairs as fast as she can to be with Michael. Michael died on impact, and the police come to investigate. She lies to them, telling them that she was comign to the Tower Life building to see him and he'd already jumped before she
got there. She goes home, distraught and irrational.

THE SHATTERED REFLECTION (Cont.)

Andrea tosses the bear in the living room, and goes into her bedroom. She turns off the lights and goes to bed. As soon as she is asleep, hundreds of pairs of red eyes appear and jump into her. She never moves a muscle.

APOTHEOSIS

"Andrea, it's Wendi again. The police have called. Are you in?"

"Hello, Miss Andrea Williamson? This is San Antonio Metropolitan Police. If you can please call us, we'd be most appreciative. Thanks."

"Andrea it's Steph. Wendi called me and we're worried about you. Where are you?"

"You bitch, you killed my son! I HOPE YOU ROT IN HELL."

But Andrea's not at home. She's at the Tower of Americas, looking down at her flock. She's spent most of the day there, watching the people and the ground below. She now realizes her lie makes her look like she's thrown Michael off the Tower Life building. She is not only NOT an angel, she's wanted by police. There's nothing left to do, and the Tower of Americas closes in ten minutes. Just before she leaves, she sees a father and son looking out on the city. The father puts the son on the metal grating...but just as Andrea is about to walk into the elevator down, she ses the metal grating give way. She remembers her last conversation with Michael: "He had been planning his surprise on the Tower of Americas."

The grating swings open with the child dangling on the far end. Before the father can react, she runs outside and tells the father to grab her ankles. She reaches out hand over hand on the grating until she is stretched out. Father holding her feet, hands stretched out. Andrea tells the son to use her body to crawl over to his father. The boy shakily manages to get to his father, but not before the metal grating begins to warp and twist on the part still connected to the tower. As Andrea begins to walk hand over hand back to the tower, the metal gives way. The father nearly loses her, but grabs her shoe. Andrea feels a tug on her arm and looks down. She sees a long line of shadows pulling her down, trying to yank her from the father's grasp. She sees more shadows climbing up the chain, trying to get at her. She manages to get enough concentration and she manages to create a lightblast. The shadows nearest her disintegrate, and the chain falls away.

And then she feels her foot slip out of her shoe.  The horrified father sees her fall. Andrea looks up at him, and in her decent, she realizes the father is Roger.

Looking down, she realizes that at least she's going to die doing the "right" thing. She begin to recite the poem her mother taught her so long ago.  "I want to be an angel/And with the angels stand./A crown upon my forehead/A harp within my --"

She never finishes.

Looking down at her body, cracked and broken in the pavement, Andrea wonders why she landed with a smile on her face. Three robed angels appear around her, and for once, she can see and hear them perfectly. The one we know as Hanna introduces herself as Andreas guardian angel. They tell her that the high quorum of angels have been watching her carefully, and her heroic deed, despite the presence of so many shadows in her soul and pulling her down has turned heads in the quorum. Unlike most humans, Andrea has the potential to be a true angel, and not one of the many temporary sub-angels like the Angel of War she saw so long ago.

She asks for Michael, if he made it into Heaven. Hanna tells her she needs to look beyond the ideas of Heaven and Hell. On further questioning, Hanna tells her that Michael will make a Pennsylvania Amish couple a fine daughter. They usher her away from the scene. Unable to explain why Andrea died with a smile on her face. 

THE END

ACT III - Angel Made Real (Outline as of 01/01/2002)

Faith and Hope and Charity

Andrea sees them as possible angels, but the girls reveal their true selves, three souls tangled together.  Unable to extricate themselves, they've fallen on hard times looking for work where the three remain in close proximity.  Andrea promises them jobs for as long as they'd like.

Unnamed Episode

Andrea takes Michael to her "secret place." She takes him to the top of the Tower Life building, one of the larger skyscrapers in her city. The security guard waves her in and she takes the elevator to the top floor, then up several more flights of stairs. Another security guard waves at her, calling her "Goldie" (due to her golden yellow hair) and lets her through the door. She is at the absolute top floor of the Tower Life building, and a small railing is all that keeps her from flying down to the ground below. She tells him that she's been coming there for years, just to look over the city watching and guarding the people below. The security guards, knowing she wasn't up to any harm, and couldn't find a way to keep her off the roof, let her through. Up there, the two watch over the city, angels protecting their flock.

Through the months, we find out that Michael has been doing roughly the same thing in The Tower of Americas, a space needle type building downtown. The Tower of Americas, though, has a metal grating around it, to keep people from falling off the observation deck. He manages to sneak in using a stolen passcode, and takes her up to the tower, showing her the view from the Tower of Americas. The view is spectacular, an Andrea regrets never going up there, first.

On Andrea's twenty-seventh birthday, Michael promises her a surprise.  They first attempt to go into the Tower of Americas but the passcode has been changed. Instead they go to the Tower Life building. There are no guards today, as it's late on a Friday. At the top of the Tower Life building, Michael tells her that he has two presents for her. He gets down on bended knee, and proposes to her. The ring is attached to a small tag on a stuffed bear dressed as an angel. She happily accepts the proposal. he then tells her that he had been planning this surprise for the Tower of Americas for a long time, but the Tower Life building will do even better.  He tells her that he is such a happy angel that he can fly. 

For years, Michael has had a spirit guide, telling him that he is an angel, and that he can fly.  In reality, Michael is insane, suffering from schizophrenia, but hiding it well.  His spirit guide told him that at his happiest moment, he would be able to fly. 

And then he jumps off the Tower Life building, plummeting to his death.

She runs downstairs as fast as she can to be with Michael. Michael died on impact, and the police come to investigate. She lies to them, telling them that she was coming to the Tower Life building to see him and he'd already jumped before she
got there. She goes home, distraught and irrational.

Apotheosis

"Andrea, it's Faith again. The police have called. Are you in?"

"Hello, Miss Andrea Williamson? This is San Antonio Metropolitan Police. If you can please call us, we'd be most appreciative. Thanks."

"Andrea it's Charity. We're worried about you. Where are you?"

"You bitch, you killed my son! I HOPE YOU ROT IN HELL."

But Andrea's not at home. She's at the Tower of Americas, looking down at her flock. She's spent most of the day there, watching the people and the ground below. She now realizes her lie makes her look like she's thrown Michael off the Tower Life building. She is not only NOT an angel, she's wanted by police. There's nothing left to do, and the Tower of Americas closes in ten minutes. Just before she leaves, she sees a father and son looking out on the city. The father puts the son on the metal grating...but just as Andrea is about to walk into the elevator down, she ses the metal grating give way. She remembers her last conversation with Michael: "He had been planning his surprise on the Tower of Americas."

The grating swings open with the child dangling on the far end. Before the father can react, she runs outside and tells the father to grab her ankles. She reaches out hand over hand on the grating until she is stretched out. Father holding her feet, hands stretched out. Andrea tells the son to use her body to crawl over to his father. The boy shakily manages to get to his father, but not before the metal grating begins to warp and twist on the part still connected to the tower. As Andrea begins to walk hand over hand back to the tower, the metal gives way. The father nearly loses her, but grabs her shoe. Andrea feels a tug on her arm and looks down. She sees a long line of shadows pulling her down, trying to yank her from the father's grasp. She sees more shadows climbing up the chain, trying to get at her. She manages to get enough concentration and she manages to create a lightblast. The shadows nearest her disintegrate, and the chain falls away.

And then she feels her foot slip out of her shoe.  The horrified father sees her fall. Andrea looks up at him, and in her decent, she realizes the father is Roger.

Looking down, she realizes that at least she's going to die doing the "right" thing. She begin to recite the poem her mother taught her so long ago.  "I want to be an angel/And with the angels stand./A crown upon my forehead/A harp within my --"

She never finishes.

Looking down at her body, cracked and broken in the pavement, Andrea wonders why she landed with a smile on her face. Three robed angels appear around her, and for once, she can see and hear them perfectly. The one we know as Hanna introduces herself as Andreas guardian angel. They tell her that the high quorum of angels have been watching her carefully, and her heroic deed, despite the presence of so many shadows in her soul and pulling her down has turned heads in the quorum. Unlike most humans, Andrea has the potential to be a true angel, and not one of the many temporary sub-angels like the Angel of War she saw so long ago.

She asks for Michael, if he made it into Heaven. Hanna tells her she needs to look beyond the ideas of Heaven and Hell. On further questioning, Hanna tells her that Michael will make a Pennsylvania Amish couple a fine daughter. They usher her away from the scene. Unable to explain why Andrea died with a smile on her face. 

THE END

Apotheosis was the least changed of all the acts in the final version and only a few substitutions and plot changes were made.  An item not mentioned in the outlines was that Andrea had become somewhat eccentric, which is why no one questioned Michael's odd behaviour.

Faith Hope and Charity were moved to give more meat to the second act, Michael's guide became a shadow of Abaddon to enhance a story going into the "sequel" and, again, Roger became Iblael (although you're really not supposed to know that JUUUUUST yet).

The smiling Andrea was a setup for the ending of the "sequel" tentatively titled "Harp within my Hand."  The ending is pretty unsatisfactory for me now.  Just to have "Oops, you died, hey, you're an angel now!" just seems badly written.  Now having her die at the hands of Abaddon and a fight makes for a better "lead in" to ACT IV (which is what the "sequel" eventually became) 

And what were the sequel concepts?  Well, we'll get into that some other anniversary....